Time to Say, Enough is Enough

Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
- Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Tennyson's poem The Charge of the Light Brigade, from which the "valley of death" lines come, describes a fatal and futile 1854 cavalry charge during the forgettable Crimean War. You can read the whole poem at www.dancelightly.com/valley-death.php

What is the proper balance between individual responsibility and blindly following the orders of an authority? When has the time come to say, enough is enough?

There are times, sir, when men of good conscience
cannot blindly follow orders.
The claim "I was only following orders" has been used
to justify too many tragedies in our history.
- Captain Picard, STAR TREK: The Next Generation

Morality is contraband in war.
- Mohandas (Mahatma) Gandhi

Further reading: Half Reveal and Half Conceal

Your Own Authority 
          

Seekers of Truth

Keep the company of those who seek the truth;
run from those who have found it.
- Václav Havel

If you would be a real seeker after truth,
it is necessary that at least once in your life you doubt,
as far as possible, all things.
- Rene Descartes

To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.
- Alfred Lord Tennyson

Examine, inquire.
Look into the nature of things.
Search out the grounds of your opinions,
the for and against.
Know why you believe, understand what you believe,
and possess a reason for the faith that is in you.
- Frances Wright

The presence of those seeking the truth
is infinitely to be preferred
to the presence of those who think they've found it.
- Terry Pratchett

Believe those who are seeking the truth.
Doubt those who find it.
- Andre Gide

Further reading: Be a Seeker

Welcome the Unknown

The Illusion of Knowledge

It's a Wonderful Life